Flanagan hits back at timing of dissenting comments as Kildare's season ended by Kerry
Padraic Spillane sticks tight to Kerry forward David Clifford during the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in Cedral St Conleths Park
Kildare manager Brian Flanagan hit back at the timing of criticism of his management by some club delegates at the recent County Board meeting after seeing his side exit the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship to champions Kerry at Cedral St Conleth’s Park this evening.
Asked about those comments afterwards, Flanagan argued that “the timing of it was poor first of all. The year wasn’t over. It is now and whatever conversations have to happen in the next few weeks I’ll live with that and I’ll sit down with (Chairman) Mick (Mullen) and we’ll review the year in detail.”
“I think blaming the manager is a well-worn path in this county,” he continued. “Very few managers in the last 25 years, particularly home-grown managers haven’t had to face that. Personally, I pay very little attention to it, it doesn’t hold a whole lot of water with me. People can say what they want to say at these meetings. As regards my own future and what that means, today’s not a day to be making decisions.”
The game itself played out on expected lines with the visitors proving far too strong for a battling Kildare side in front of a crowd of 9,957 at the Newbridge venue.
Kerry took full advantage of the wind in the opening half to open up a 0-16 to 0-8 lead, with thanks primarily to four two-pointers from Joe O’Connor, Dylan Geaney, Paudie Clifford and Brian Ó Beaglaoich.
Kildare’s primary resistance came from the effort and energy of Alex Beirne around the middle of the park and the outstanding shooting of corner-forward Jack Robinson who landed five sublime points from play in the opening half, outshining Kerry star David Clifford at the other end.
Flanagan had handed Mark Dempsey the task of curtailing the younger Clifford, while Harry O’Neill was deployed to mark centre-forward Paudie, and the Moorefield full-back performed admirably, limiting his man to two first-half points, one of which appeared to local eyes to have passed just outside the post. He did skin Dempsey on one other occasion and threatened a goal only for Brian Byrne to intervene with a block.
Sheehan produced a fine save to deny Paul Geaney a goal in the run-up to half-time, with Byrne clearing the Kildare lines to keep their net intact.
Kildare’s problem in the opening half was largely on their own kick-outs, a recurring theme, with Kerry’s size and athleticism in the middle third allowing them to limit the home side’s retention to 53%. It worsened further to 36% in the second half.
Kerry produced a powerful surge against the wind at the start of the second half, outscoring their opponents four points to one in the opening eleven minutes with the Clifford brothers landing three of those between them (David two, Paudie one from a sweetly struck ’45 into the wind).
Kildare, though, briefly threatened a competitive finish. Byrne fisted a rare point for the Naas man and the follow-up two-pointer from Darragh Kirwan was conceived in the county town as well. A Beirne breakaway finished with substitute Ryan Sinkey setting up Kirwan for the home team’s first orange flag.
That brought the gap back to eight points (0-20 to 0-12) with wind advantage behind the underdogs, but disaster befell goalkeeper Eoin Sheehan when a rare and ill-conceived attempt at a short kick-out went straight to David Clifford of all people. The Fossa man is not one to turn his nose up at such an opportunity and he punished the Johnstownbridge man with a clinical finish to the net.
That came on 54 minutes and two minutes later it was game well and truly over when David Clifford and Keith Evans set up Diarmuid O’Connor for an improvised finish past Sheehan.
Kildare battled on and Kirwan and Brian McLoughlin added two-pointers but Kerry added a final flourish to the scoreline on the stroke of full-time when David Clifford passed across goal for inrushing substitute Gavin White to palm past Sheehan for their third goal, putting the seal on a comfortable and recuperative fourteen-point win after their troubles against Donegal in the previous round.
Shane Murphy; Evan Looney, Jason Foley, Dylan Casey; Brian Ó Beaglaoich 0-3 (tp), Mike Breen, Graham O’Sullivan 0-2 (1f); Mark O’Shea, Seán O’Brien 0-2; Joe O’Connor 0-2 (tp), Paudie Clifford 0-3 (1tp,1’45), Diarmuid O’Connor 1-0; Paul Geaney 0-2, David Clifford 1-4, Dylan Geaney 0-4 (tp). Subs: Gavin White 1-0 for Ó Beaglaoich (b/s) 50, Tony Brosnan for P Geaney 52, Keith Evans for O’Connor 52, Armin Heinrich for Breen 56, Paul Murphy for Looney 56, Killian Spillane for D O’Connor 61, Tadhg Morley for Foley (b/s) 63, Tomás Kennedy for P Clifford (b/s) 65.
Eoin Sheehan; Ryan Burke, Mark Dempsey, Pádraic Spillane; Brian Byrne 0-1, Harry O’Neill, James McGrath; Shane Farrell, Brendan Gibbons; Darragh Kirwan 0-6 (2tps), Alex Beirne 0-2 (1f), Colm Dalton; Ben Loakman 0-1, Kevin Feely, Jack Robinson 0-5. Subs: Brian McLoughlin 0-2 (tp) for Farrell 44, Ryan Sinkey for Dalton 49, Eoin Cully for Robinson 52, Tommy Gill for O’Neill 62, Darragh Swords for McGrath 64.
Niall Cullen (Fermanagh).
